Travel Blog

9 Oct

The Proof: Elizabeth Boylan

I am an artist and gamepreneur.  Born and raised in French speaking Montréal, Québec, it was a love for snowboarding Whistler glaciers, that brought me out west, where I met my husband and programmer, John Borchert. Always longing to enter the game industry, I attended Emily Carr University of Art and Design while pursuing web development and motherhood.  With the introduction of the iPhone, I jumped at the opportunity to develop indie iPhone apps and games back in 2009 and haven’t looked back.  In order to promote Big Top Ballet Inc., I draw from a varied background which includes visual arts, graphic design, live performance, business studies, computer programming and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from St. Francis Xavier University and a lot of play.  I also operate as the Creative Director for our mobile consulting arm, Vectorbloom.

Elizabeth Boylan

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The Photos
01 That’s my desk and the view of the forest outside my office studio.

02 Home page branding for Big Top Ballet’s Indie game. The title is now available for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Facebook , Chrome, Samsung’s 100 Percent Indie Platform and Linux Ubuntu.  We’re planning a relaunch on our anniversary release to iOS in February 2014.

03 Original game play screen shot for the paper ballerina mini game, the first of a series of mini game concepts to be released to mobile devices for casual game play.

04 Confession: one of my favourite things to do is lie down on docks and soak up the sun’s rays. B ut really with this picture of Nita Lake, who would argue with me?

05 Moleskine sketches and work in progress ideas for game art to be featured in Big Top Ballet’s video game.  That’s a mocha breve- made with cream instead of milk and breakfast, bacon/ egg english muffin which I typically share with Johnny.

06 Networking, training and meeting other unity game developers at Unite 2013.  One of the best company expenses this year. It was a blast of inspiration to meet so many other developers and be in such talented, intelligent company.   We even got to trouble shoot with Facebook’s Developer Team to trouble shoot our Facebook page’s link to the game.

07. My husband, John Borchert who also partners with me as Big Top Ballet Inc.’s Chief Technology Officer.  A day at Alta Lake Beach with our Weimer raner.

08 Here I am perfecting ‘the pitch’.  That’s me dancing about as we shoot elevator pitch videos in one of my favourite little gems of public architecture in Whistler.  This Bridge links between the Nita Lake Lodge and Nita Lake Estates and it’s just about the most delightful over pass of a rail way that I’ve ever seen.

The Questions

Where do you live?
We live in The Glades at Spring Creek. It’s perfect mix of space, quiet and proximity to our daughter’s French school Ecole La Passerelle.  Although not on a lake, I love how it’s walking distance right between Function Junction and Creekside.

What do you do and where? 
I am the Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Big Top Ballet Inc. I program, handle web/ graphic design and create game assets using Maya 3D and Photoshop. I work from our home studio office with my husband and Big Top Ballet’s Chief Technology Officer. Being a mum and gamepreneur, working from home allows me to burn the candle from both ends.

What are you working on?
I am working on winning over the hearts and minds of millions of game players building up Big Top Ballet’s boutique game title. As odd as this may sound, I intend on making Big Top Ballet my life’s work. We’ve launched as a casual mini game for mobile and are working to transform the title into a full Triple A game title over the coming years. It’s ambitious and overwhelming but I tell myself I was born to swim in deep waters.

Where can we find your work?
On my website, elizabethboylan.com and in Big Top Ballet the video game.
BigTopBallet.com

ElizabethBoylan.com

Facebook.com/bigtopballet

Facebook.com/ArtcardsByElizabethBoylan ( And the accompanying iPhone App )

 

Article source: http://www.whistlerisawesome.com/2013/10/08/the-proof-elizabeth-boylan/